


Acidic Phoenix

by doodlingNutjob



Series: Believe in Steven [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Body Horror, Corrupted Gems, Corruption, Gen, also very headcanon heavy especially in the second half, bear with me on this, i absolutely love centipeetle okay, please for the love of god read the notes at the beginning, the first half is really messed up but the second half is fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 04:51:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4593519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodlingNutjob/pseuds/doodlingNutjob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was broken beyond repair, and then he repaired her anew with the utmost kindness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Broken...

**Author's Note:**

> A word of warning- I wrote both parts of this late at night.  
> That said, if you want more of Prehnite and her monster buddies, you can look here:  
> ASKBLOG: http://askthetrashgems.tumblr.com/  
> MAIN BLOG ART TAG: http://arasolcan.tumblr.com/tagged/nutart  
> For a bit of background, Spessartine and Prehnite were extremely close friends (read: crushing on each other) and got separated in a battle, with the former losing her will to fight and fleeing in the middle. Here's the aftermath.  
> Also, there's some headcanon stuff in part one that will be explained in further things I write, so stay tuned.  
> Hope you enjoy!

   "SPESSARTINE!"

   Prehnite's voice pealed out in unconcealed horror as she turned to see her friend sprinting into the surf. She was unmistakable, with her blue veil of a cape, and the orange gem rushed into the waves, the salt spray rising as she paddled out and several "Crystal Gems" followed her in. The Spessartine was too dangerous to allow to escape.

   Prehnite too raced toward the sea, dart gun lowered and hand outstretched. "Spessartine, don't-!"

   Whatever she was going to say, she was cut off by a Crystal Gem tackling her into the sand. The gun flew from her hand and dissolved, and her eye widened in horror as a small gem ran forward, hurling her spear forward with deadly precision. Prehnite knew the exact moment it hit its mark as for a few blinding moments, the ocean surged with electricity. The crackle was deafening, the screams of electrocuted gems unbearable. Those few seconds felt longer than they really were, so much longer. When the electricity died, the sea frothed with steam and poof clouds bubbling to the surface. Prehnite felt a lump in her throat as her fingers hooked and clawed into the sand, unable to turn and fight off the gem on her back. She was, however, able to buck her off at the same time a large, shiny head broke the waves, five gelatinous fingers twitching in the air. Prehnite broke into a sob as the beast let out a scream that initially sounded like a mildly distorted Spessartine but became entirely bestial. What used to be Spess then splashed back beneath the surface, growls still reverberating faintly for a few moments.

   Prehnite had tried to fight off tears, her major defect. However, she could only take so much. It would've been kinder to Spess if she'd been fully shattered instead of turning into...that. Why was Spess running in the first place? Was she more afraid of battle than Blue Diamond's wrath? Prehnite knew with a sinking feeling within her core that after her retreating stunt, the kindest fate for Spessartine would've been shattering. Even if she'd survived uncorrupted, she'd become a fuel gem with her electric abilities.

   It was this realization that was so hard for her to cope with. The tears came as she screeched and threw herself on the gem that had previously pinned her to the beach. Hands gripped wrists with force that would break organic bones, and Prehnite bared her teeth in a snarl at her attacker-turned victim. The first tear fell from her eye, normal and aquatic.

  That wasn't her defect.

  As the two gems wrestled in the sand like feral cats, unearthly bright green tears started to run down the other side of her face, from her gem. These tears left black trails behind them, a wake of burnt gem flesh. These tears, made of the acid that was usually contained in her darts, were her defect. If ever Prehnite cried as hard as she was now, her face would burn and melt away given enough time.

  "You're going to pay," she hissed through clenched teeth, and the other gem winced as an acid tear dripped onto her skin. She'd have liked to say that to the pearl that had thrown the spear, but any Crystal Gem would do.

  "Backup!" the other gem screamed right as Prehnite tipped her face level to the sand. Her gem glowed, and without warning dumped a deluge of acid all over her struggling victim. The Crystal Gem let out a banshee wail as some of it hit the pale blue gemstone on her throat. Prehnite held her down as the acid worked its way into her gemstone, and her screams distorted further and further up until her physical form poofed. Her gem sank into the sand in a steaming black crater, half the stone bubbling and liquefying.

  Prehnite kneeled in the sand, tears still freely flowing and half her face shrivelling into a blackened, twisted mass. Ribbons of skin hung off from around her gem "eye" as more acid leaked out. Emotional agony led to physical agony.

  As she watched and listened to the clashing gems filling the beach, she felt intense bitterness. She fought for gems who called her defective behind her back in what felt like a losing war. Her best friend was in another freakin' Faction, and not only had she been experimented on by Blue Diamond, but she was gone past the point of no return now.

 What was the point of fighting this war?

 What was the point of fighting for Yellow Diamond?

 What was the point of fighting for Homeworld?

 What was the point, anymore?

 She hugged herself with one arm as her other touched the side of her face that was burning and falling away. It was getting in her mouth now, too, and her lips were starting to blacken with small hisses. Her angry yells had turned to broken sobbing to bitter, insane laughter. Prehnite couldn't hold in the giggles, the deranged laughing as now the shining spear was hurled straight through her chest. She turned to give her assailant a fangy grin out of a dead face as she vanished in a white cloud. Her gem plopped into a small patch of acidic sand. Her gemstone was her only part that was immune to the stuff.

 The pearl hesitated, a new spear in hand for the shattering of this gem. But...that final grin had been extremely unsettling and disturbing. Something was horribly amiss here, she felt it in her gem.

  It was less than a minute before the green sphere rose into the air. A glowing humanoid figure kneeled on the beach, but then she grew insanely tall, her sides exploding in a multitude of segmented limbs. In a burst of light, a giant black monster bug loomed over the fighting gems, fluffy mane rising and acid pouring from her clacking jaws. The pearl just barely leaped out of the way of an acid stream that she fired. The sand was blackened and steaming with the most strong, foul fumes. She fired again, and caught an unfortunate chalcedony with it. The green gem hit the sand with a split second distorted wail, and then she was dissolved.

 She let out a triumphant roar, and then began shooting at random.

 She'd destroy every last good for nothing gem on this beach.


	2. ...But not beyond repair

   She had a problem. She hated gems. She was lonely.

  
   She spat on any gems and melted them, but she needed friends. So she made her own buddies, buddies like her but with no stone or acid. Little hers were the best friends. They even helped to destroy mean gems! Melting the mean gems was fun for a long time but then it wasn.'t. She hated gems now, all gems, even she melted them. No more melting. Only little hers destroying them. The little hers solved the problem! For a long time there were no gems, and she was as happy as she could be. She was still feeling icky, but it was less icky now. She was alone with her little hers and less icky and it was better. She missed someone, but couldn't remember.  
She had a name, but couldn't remember.

  
   Her body was owie all the time, like something was bad. But her body was always like this! She couldn't be anything else. She couldn't be a stupid icky dumb dumb meanie gem. Sometimes she wanted to scream for no reason, like there was a thing to scream over, and her little buddies would join in with her. Why did they scream? She didn't know and the screaming didn't help.

  
   One day she got very angry, realizing there were still yucky gems alive! She sent in the little hers, but the meanie gems poofed them all! She was so angry she went in herself, spitting on them like old times! They kept dodging, and it made her angry. She was so angry she didn't notice a small one throw a thing at her and suddenly everything was OWIE and BRIGHT and she couldn't take it anymore and she fled into her stone to hide from the meanies.  
She fell into a deep sleep suddenly, no dreams and no reason to scream.

 

 

   When she woke back up, she tried to turn into something less owie but it wouldn't hold, so she tried to get big so she could fight the meanie gems, but she was too tired so she became a smaller her, but with her fluff and acid and stone. There was a small thing that seemed familiar, and she hissed and backed up, afraid. He approached, making a "chaaaaaap" noise and offering her a thing! she liked things and so she ate the thing and it was magical. It took her mind off the owie until the meanie gems came in!!! She wanted to scream and spit again, but he kept the meanie gems away from her.

  
   He let her free of chains and gave her more chaaaap things. They were delicious until some caw-caw birds showed up so she spat them away. They would not touch him or the chaaaap things. Caw-caws were bad.

  
   He giggled and gave her more chaaaaps.

  
   She followed him and he'd caw-caw so she'd spit and then he'd smile and give her chaaaaps. It was very very nice until the meanie gems got out their weapons. She screamed and screamed and spit and spit until he held her. She was afraid and owie at first, but then she felt something deep inside her. She was...missing this? She sank into his arms, into his puffy jacket and warm body and sighed. He was safe.

  
  Then he was not safe as the sky rumbled and a sharp piece of sky fell. She pushed him aside. He did not deserve the owie. She already felt owie all the time. Something was always wrong.

  
  This sharp sky owie was very bad and she retreated to her stone to stay safe, and again she fell into a deep sleep, very peaceful. No owie, no screaming, only warmth. If she could think she'd think her buddy was holding her.

 

 

  When she woke up again she was still small, still owie, and she wanted chaaaaps. She saw her buddy and made a beeline, tail pincers pinching, acid saliva running freely. He giggled with wet face holes and gave her the magical, wonderful chaaaaps. She crawled in his lap and sat there, still wary of the meanie gems but feeling safe with her buddy. She tensed a little as he put his big paw in her fluff, but then he stroked her fluff and it felt even better than chaaaaps tasted. Which was hard because chaaaaps were the best things ever. And her buddy was the best buddy ever for giving her chaaaaps and fluff rubs.

  
  She followed him and spat at anything that came too close, until he yelled a "Connie!" noise and made an icky gem shield and waved his arms. She could not stay mmad at gem shield forever because it was her buddy's. She learned spitting at the Connie was bad and it made her buddy very very sad. Sad buddy made her sadder. He ddid not deserve sads. She already had sads.

  
  If he was sad she wanted to scream and spit at what made him sad and then she'd get more chaaaaps and fluff rubs and buddy smiles.

  
  As time passed he began to put his saliva on his paw and then touch her stone. She screamed and screamed at first, but her buddy showed her he wasn't going to hurt her stone. She trusted him.

  
  The saliva touch felt good in the deepest of ways, deep within her being. She felt some of the owies and sads that were always there just fading with every saliva touch. When they sat watching the sad noises box, she put her head in his lap begging for more fluff rubs and saliva touches.

  
  One day she grunted "Steeee....Steeeeee-eeeeeeen" at him, bumping and nudging his leg for attention. His eyes got starry and he called to the gems. She did not like them and they did not like her, but they learned to ignore each other because they both liked her buddy Steven. He told them she was talking.  
Of course she could talk!

  
  She said "Steven" and "chaaaaps" and "rub" now, and once "Connie" to make Steven smile, which meant more chaaaaps. She got more and more saliva touches.  
Eventually the gems took her on a blue thing while she was in Steven's arms. There was a flash of light and she screamed but Steven calmed her down quickly with a fluff rub and she chirped "rub" contentedly. Then they walked by plants, Steven holding her the entire time. Eventually Steven walked over to a fountain with a statue of a lady that made her scream until she got another fluff rub.

  
  "It's okay, Centipeetle! This is mom's fountain, and it can help you feel better!" He held her for a few more tense moments before gently lowering her into the water. She panicked at first but Steven calmed her down. As he backed away, his eyes started getting wet sad, and she wanted to scream. What was making Steven sad?!  
She was so concerned about Steven she didn't notice the big punchy gem until too late. In a brief burst of pain she poofed, and the soothing water flowed around her gem.

  
  She came back quickly because the water felt almost as good as a saliva touch, and this time there were no owies. She knew what her body must be like now.  
She remembered she was a gem.

  
  She rose kneeling in the water, the light fading as Steven rushed into the fountain to hug her. She was bigger than him now, but she still hugged the weepy boy.  
This body felt so different but so familiar at the same time. She was slowly remembering who she was. She was a gem.

  
  "Centipeetle!" Steven gasped, smiling up at her. "Do you feel better now?"

  
  "Yes," she murmured, feeling the novelty of running her hand through his hair for once. "Much. Thank you, Steven!"

  
  "No prob, Bob," he answered, hugging her tighter.

  
  "She was quiet for a moment. "Please, call me Prehnite."


End file.
